2 door wagon help

[Z28Lover]

Hi

I want use a '66 Chevelle wagon roof on a '66 El Camino.My question is where do I make the cuts?Thanks for any help.

Mike Maze

[george 53]

Mike, why dontcha just move the B-pillar from the wagon, back to where it is on the Camino, and then just re-scribe the back of the door line to match up to the new B-pillar location. It'd be ALOT easier than trying to mount the wagon roof on the camino's body.Oh, and remember to fill in the back door seam lines! Good luck, it'll be a cool project!

[Casey]

Are you trying to make a stock appearing '66 Chevelle 2-door wagon or a custom version?

[Steven Zimmerman]

If you're interested,Ed Fluck casts a 64,65,and 66 2 door Chevelle wagon and RMR casts a 67.....some of these are sedan deliveries,but can have windows cut out easily.....All of the above were done on El Camino based bodies with thewagon roof grafted....Jimmy Flintstone and Holthaus also offer 65 sedan delivery Chevelles in resin based on the initial AMT Elky kits..........Steve Zimmerman aka the'Z'man

[Lyle Willits]

Just start with a '66 wagon and rescribe the door lines and move the post. I converted this one to a '67, but it's the Revell '66 kit.

[torinobradley]

I think he is trying to go for the slanted pillar Nomad look. I have thought about doing this to 1:1s. How about a '76 Laguna Nomad?

[Jairus]

If you are building a phantom 2 door wagon.. maybe you should first grab some pictures of actual 2 door wagons and see how it is done.

The first mistake most builders make is failing to mount the new roof level.

The second mistake is getting the rear posts at some awkward angle because the builder didn't bother to shorten or lengthen the roof as needed.

The third mistake is leaving long windows and an unsupported roof somewhere behind the door pillars.

Virtually all 2 door wagons that were based on a Ranchero or El Camino platform had standard back windows and tailgate with standard posts with the exception of shortened windows just behind the door pillars. Like this:

The above is a phantom that I designed for Jeff Ford at Mustangs & Fords.

Below we have a couple more actual 2 door wagons, the first is a 50 Mercury. The post in the middle of the long window was not so much for support as it was to split the window. A long piece of glass like that would never have lasted in an automobile that flexes, twists and bounces as much as they do. The glass would crack unless it could be mounted in an inch of thick rubber molding! This would be a design no-no as it would recess the glass too much.

The second is a classic Pontiac Safari, sister to the Nomad... Same here, split glass and infact... the side windows on this one were designed to slide open for ventilation.

Lastly is another phantom and never before seen in print. Another Pontiac Safari 2 door which is my interpretation of what a '60 Safari sport wagon might have looked like. Here the side window glass around the doors is all stock and cranks down for an open hard-top feel. The rear window glass would have been standard wagon glass but cut down in length slightly. Tailgate and liftgate are standard 60 wagon items.

The bottom line is that when designing a phantom to look like the factory did it... make sure you use as much factory steel pressings as possible and as few unique pieces. The top illustration of the Fairlane wagons has only one small window glass that would be unique to the 2-door car you see.... all else came from standard assembly line parts and thus makes the design logical.

Good luck!

[SoCalCarCulture]

Lastly is another phantom and never before seen in print. Another Pontiac Safari 2 door which is my interpretation of what a '60 Safari sport wagon might have looked like. Here the side window glass around the doors is all stock and cranks down for an open hard-top feel. The rear window glass would have been standard wagon glass but cut down in length slightly. Tailgate and liftgate are standard 60 wagon items.

Wow - I like that '60 Safari!

Any other views?

[Z28Lover]

Mike, why dontcha just move the B-pillar from the wagon, back to where it is on the Camino, and then just re-scribe the back of the door line to match up to the new B-pillar location. It'd be ALOT easier than trying to mount the wagon roof on the camino's body.Oh, and remember to fill in the back door seam lines! Good luck, it'll be a cool project!

I thought of that,but I'm no good a scribing new door lines.Thanks for the suggestion.

[Z28Lover]

Are you trying to make a stock appearing '66 Chevelle 2-door wagon or a custom version?

A stock body.

[Z28Lover]

If you're interested,Ed Fluck casts a 64,65,and 66 2 door Chevelle wagon and RMR casts a 67.....some of these are sedan deliveries,but can have windows cut out easily.....All of the above were done on El Camino based bodies with thewagon roof grafted....Jimmy Flintstone and Holthaus also offer 65 sedan delivery Chevelles in resin based on the initial AMT Elky kits..........Steve Zimmerman aka the'Z'man

I'm aware of the resin bodies,but I want to do it myself from plastic.I've been thinking of several projects for years.Now I have the time to do them.Thanks

[Z28Lover]

If you are building a phantom 2 door wagon.. maybe you should first grab some pictures of actual 2 door wagons and see how it is done.

The first mistake most builders make is failing to mount the new roof level.

The second mistake is getting the rear posts at some awkward angle because the builder didn't bother to shorten or lengthen the roof as needed.

The third mistake is leaving long windows and an unsupported roof somewhere behind the door pillars.

Virtually all 2 door wagons that were based on a Ranchero or El Camino platform had standard back windows and tailgate with standard posts with the exception of shortened windows just behind the door pillars. Like this:

The above is a phantom that I designed for Jeff Ford at Mustangs & Fords.

Below we have a couple more actual 2 door wagons, the first is a 50 Mercury. The post in the middle of the long window was not so much for support as it was to split the window. A long piece of glass like that would never have lasted in an automobile that flexes, twists and bounces as much as they do. The glass would crack unless it could be mounted in an inch of thick rubber molding! This would be a design no-no as it would recess the glass too much.

The second is a classic Pontiac Safari, sister to the Nomad... Same here, split glass and infact... the side windows on this one were designed to slide open for ventilation.

Lastly is another phantom and never before seen in print. Another Pontiac Safari 2 door which is my interpretation of what a '60 Safari sport wagon might have looked like. Here the side window glass around the doors is all stock and cranks down for an open hard-top feel. The rear window glass would have been standard wagon glass but cut down in length slightly. Tailgate and liftgate are standard 60 wagon items.

The bottom line is that when designing a phantom to look like the factory did it... make sure you use as much factory steel pressings as possible and as few unique pieces. The top illustration of the Fairlane wagons has only one small window glass that would be unique to the 2-door car you see.... all else came from standard assembly line parts and thus makes the design logical.

Good luck!

Thanks for all the info.